A powerful pre-winter storm slammed California with rain and snow on Monday, snarling roads, triggering two traffic fatalities, collapsing the roof of an occupational school and forcing hundreds of people to flee homes in a suburb at risk of mudslides after a devastating wildfire last month. About 20,000 utility customers lost power.

Sam Bradford's a genuine star now. Saturday, the Oklahoma quarterback will join college football's glitterati in New York for the televised presentation of the Heisman Trophy. He's favored to win it. At 6-4, with smarts and cool and an uncannily accurate right arm, he's beginning to generate talk of going first in the NFL draft whenever the third-year sophomore might choose to enter it.

Blackwater Worldwide guards involved in the deadly 2007 Baghdad shooting of Iraqi civilians could face mandatory 30-year prison sentences under an aggressive anti-drug law being considered as the Justice Department readies indictments, people close to the case said.

A federal judge has banned MGA Entertainment from making and selling its hugely popular Bratz dolls in a sweeping decision that rival Mattel hailed as a major victory in the companies' the four-year doll fight.

Ben Davis (Indianapolis) topped the final Super 25 girls basketball rankings with a perfect 30-0 season, but the biggest push was made by New York's St. Michael Academy which climbed nine spots to No. 7 after beating then-No. 11 Murray Bergtraum in the state's Federation Class 2A title game.